The Opticians EYE View Report:
Before we get to the latest legislative news though let’s
first consider why Opticians should join their Professional Association. If you are interested in furthering
your career, joining the professional association
is a good start. An association is a synergistic group;
meaning that the effect of a collection of people is
greater than just one person. Creating professional
relationships with fellow Opticians is important, and
joining a group allows you to have a sense of security
and trust. From this, you are able to support and help
one another in reaching your professional goals. The
OAC sponsors numerous events throughout the year
that allow you to connect with your peers. This networking can have a very meaningful impact on your
career. The OAC provides an enormous amount of
access to resource information such as: case studies,
articles, white papers and books written by experts
in your field or area of interest.
LEGISLATION IN CANADA BILL
VISION CANADA
BILL C313 continues in the bureaucracy that is Health
Canada. The OAC is very concerned about the delay.
We have started to dig deeper into the administrative
process and encourage its completion in time for Halloween 2014. The Office of Legislative and Regulatory
Modernization is responsible for drafting the regulations, which was to begin by consulting with the eye
health professions to obtain background information.
The process of getting final regulations in force was
expected to take approximately 18 months. That time
has all but passed. Royal assent was in December 2012.
Vision Canada runs November 17 to 18 at the Marriott
Hotel in Mississauga.
This legislation has been proclaimed LAW by the
government of Canada. While we do recognize that
the Bill itself will have no effect on “who” is able to sell
non-corrective contact lenses or the requirements for
a prescription, these regulations will be established
provincially. The re-classification of non-prescription
contact lenses as a m edical device will provide a stimulus for changes in the provincial regulations to reflect
the need for oversight by eye care professionals.
BILL C26- By now we have all received numerous
emails from all sorts of marketing companies and
other organizations asking if you still wish to receive
their emails. The OAC is NOT a marketing company;
we are a professional association. It is expected that
we will communicate with our members frequently
and even non-members on matters of importance
to the profession.
36 Optical Prism | September 2014
The professional learning library of the OAC is quite
extensive and can be of tremendous support for maintaining a portfolio or learning a particular specialty.
Consider joining the OAC today and get your College
mandated professional liability insurance included
with membership in most regions in Canada.
It looks like we are going to have one heck of a show!
Already, exhibitor booths are almost sold out in the
exhibit hall. This year we have a mix of returning OAC
sponsors like Essilor, Transitions, Hoya, Johnson and
Johnson, and Cooper Vision combined with some new
ones. This OAC hosted exhibition and continuing
education event is one of the biggest Optician shows
in the country. It will engage the newly recruited
Optician while reigniting the passion of our seasoned
veteran Opticians. There will be exciting events on
the trade show floor, photo booths, delicious food, and
live demonstrations. Let’s talk about the educational
series......big name speaker Professor Ed August will
be presenting two amazing lectures on dispensing and
building your customer bases. Knowing how to vision
screen is fundamental to our roles as Opticians, so join
our Vision Screening education session. Vision Canada promises an experience worth attending. Because
of the limited seating, registration is preferred.
Learn more and update your information
at www.opticians.ca. Send it to us via email at
[email protected].